Thanks much Sara, you're the best. ~D
Sorry for the necromancy - and I may have missed it; But I haven't seen anything on the Hellknights Most Wanted description or avatar.
Thanks much,
~D
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Hey thanks MF! Funny enough, I may have already converted A1. I'm glad the links work for you. They should work fine on any system that can get links in a PDF (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, etc.). If you end up converting A3 or A4, let me know. I had some ideas on those given the setting. ~D
Hey there. So I decided to do another conversion. This one is for A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade (Johnson, Harold; Moldvay, Tom. TSR, 1981). If you want a copy, email me at daemonslye@daemonslye.com. I took a different approach with this one. While no fan fiction is ever really safe, I did not rewrite the adventure. I also did not include more than a few key pieces of art. I really just focused on re-doing the stats for the encounters. So the DM must absolutely own the module or (better yet) purchase the new book, "Against the Slavelords" (which is very nicely done BTW). However, I did do a little more than just stats. I wanted the conversion to be "game-ready" for the GM. I wanted it to be "interactive" (e.g. useful if online). I wanted it to be purpose built to run off a touch-screen. I understand many GMs do not own iPads and even for those that do, only some operate games while connected to the Internet. The document works fine on a PC and can operate just as well as any other PDF when offline. However, if you do have an iPad and an Internet connection, many areas and icons of the document become much more useful. For example, touch a "gear" icon and you get a web page with the base stats or spell description. Touch a picture icon and you get a web page with a picture of the person or monster. "Teardop" map icons take you back to the relevant map, etc. On an iPad Air, these links operate quickly and smoothly. You can use a “four-finger swipe” to quickly swipe back to the PDF. Based on my testing, on a PC, they feel slow and sluggish. It's just something different I wanted to try, being an overworked GM myself, and I hope the extra effort will be worth it.
I’m giving a special shout-out to the d20pfsrd.com. It was handy to be able to link directly to ready content without unnecessary frames crowding out the content. Also, I made extensive use of the Herolabs(r) software and continue to highly recommend its use. Technical Stuff:
Spoiler:
While I tested this on an iPad Air with the Adobe Reader App, it will likely work on other devices and apps. That said, I saw some weirdness (poor rendering, highlighted linking areas where I set them to be invisible, slowness, etc.) with other apps. Also the faster the device, generally, the better. To get it on your tablet, I recommend downloading it to a PC then using a cloud-based service (like dropbox or box.com) to sync and open on your device. From there, select the file in the cloud-app and choose “Open In” then select the Adobe Reader app you previously downloaded (for free!). Generally, Adobe will let you open links from PDF, although it will ask you for an “OK” first. Other apps may need the settings adjusted to open links. Most of the links run through tiny.cc, so if they are having an issue or if you (for whatever reason) can’t get there, the links won’t work. Obviously, I’m using this in case the links to images or other resources change – if that happens (you get a 404) drop me an email and I’ll replace it with a link that works. All you need to do is delete your browser cache (in settings-safari on the iPad) and reload once I have the link updated through tiny. Please read the “Tips” page for ways to streamline the experience using the iPad.
Notes for GM: Spoiler:
I ended up needing to re-do the maps. I'm awful at making maps and, worse, glacially slow at it. So apologies for the rudimentary maps - I tried getting the dimensions accurate at the minimum. The NPCs, both evil and no-so-evil were the most fun to convert. I've been through the adventure as a player (around the time it came out, say 1982-ish) and the NPCs, when GM'ed well, made this more than just a encounter-to-encounter tournament dungeon. I tried to "pathfinder-ize" it without losing the flavor of the original. Its interesting just how close many of the items came through all the editions relatively unscathed. From a power level perspective, a group of four or five highly optimized 5th or 6th level PCs will probably breeze through the place without taking much damage. So, GMs should take a close look at the PCs and determine if they need to be a little lower in level. A primary consideration is that any PC with an astronomical AC won't be challenged by the lower level monsters. The adventure is light on enemy spellcasters so the "high AC offset by low will save" won't balance out here as much. As a GM, playing up the need for stealth and speed could help, but there's always a way to tip the scales. All that said, if you play the adventure as one where the PCs cannot easily rest, by the time they hit the dungeons, they could be stretching their resources. Bypass: If the PCs have perfect intelligence (easily scouting out the fort even with terrain difficulties, time pressures, and frequent wandering encounters), they will be able to bypass the curtain wall and possibly waltz right through Area 34 to Area 35 bypassing the entire Fort level. Then, if they use the trap door, to Dungeon level 20, they will bypass half of the Dungeon level. The GM has the ultimate call here - I included all of the mapped encounters as originally written. GMs could, however, remove the stairs up to Area 34 (the goblins there must traverse the roof) and remove the trap door in Icar's room. The PCs could also be motivated to kill as many slavers as possible during their raid, knowing that leaving behind Gorbin Stalworth or other leadership holed up in the Gatehouses gives the slavers command of the Fort for future operations. e.g. It's not just enough to steal in and rescue a few slaves and kill a leader or two, the PCs could be tasked with taking control of the entire fort! While I converted the pregens, I kept most of their items and ability scores the same (although, I stacked the levels of Eljay and Kayen Telva and gave poor 3rd level Phanstern a bit of a bump through an additional template). I tried to make each pregen seem individually like a good pick, although Elwita and Karraway still seem to be default requirements. I made the pregen character sheets to be printed and did not construct them for use on a tablet. Known Bugs: Dungeon Map - Area 22 and Area 12. The page link does not work. Just select a nearby room to get to the page. I was doing some editing and borked the link. I was not able to find an easy way to fix it.
I hope you enjoy this. Let me know what you think in a reply post, it'll help keep the thread alive. Again, sorry its just focused on updating the stats as opposed to a full re-imagining of the content. Thanks, ~D
Thanks much for the support! I have updated the files (just use the link I sent you previously) - As I work through Book 2, it is definitely turning out to be a trilogy. So there will be a Book 3. I have also put a preview of Book 2 up there. Just change the "1" at the end of the link to a "2". Let me know what you think - I don't follow other genres, so it wasn't until after I roughed out the story and was rummaging the Internet that I noticed the similarities to a certain other game (that I never really paid attention to). Oh well, given the story line, a bit of synchronicity is almost a requirement :) Hope you like it - Since I'm in the writing phase, I'm certainly open to ideas and feedback. Cheers, ~D
Thanks for the comments and thanks to Dreaming Psion and dafaddu for the editing help. Documents have been updated to V1.3. ~D
Did a bunch of testing - everything seems to work. If you have any trouble, you can use the paizo messageboard to send me a Private Message (click on your name at the top of the page and then click the private messages tab) or you can try my aol address (yes I still have one of those) daemonslye at aol dot com. Note, you will get a bounce if you spell the name incorrectly. Hope this helps, ~D
Hmmm. Well, I haven't had any email problems I know about. In fact, I just got another few emails. If you don't get a reply within a day or so, please just PM me. Thanks! ~D
I'd say Slumbering Tsar. Having DM'ed Rappan Athuk several times, even the latest copy suffers from wild swings in encounter CRs attempting to hew to the original (even though it's toned down, TPKs hide around every third corner depending on starting level of course). That said, the PCs always had a great time, even while they were dying. ST looks to be a little more manageable (although it does seem to ramp up fast to CR 11s; depending on your players, you may start them at lvl 8) ~D
Thanks! I guess I figured CR 1 was just about 2nd level and then I bumped it two HD because of the type of foes you see at around 3rd level. Maybe its better to scale up per level. I converted the evolutions into an ability of the summoner, not the eidolon. The summoner can then "kick off" an evolution with a standard action usable twice per day - The evolutions of different types can stack (ex. attack and ac). I figured it would be good to see how my young player chooses how to use these "resources" (saving them for healing or using them immediately to buff the creature for the rest of the day). I figured if I added humanoids to the monster summoning list, I could see how he handled them before it became "multiple PCs" with a permanent humanoid eidolon. Thanks again, ~D
Here's a whack at the BBOX Summoner I did for a nephew. Hopefully, it's within guidelines and the link stays up. Here's the link: As you can see there were a number of hard choices to make while retaining the flavor of the original. Some things were left out because they didn't seem "required" (I suppose I could have pointed the eidolon's evasion ability at the 2nd level rogue, etc. but, at some point, less words are better without messing up the game). Evolutions needed some re-work to simplify - Maybe I did it the wrong way, but I was going to for simple. The "healing evolution" would have ramifications at higher levels but works nicely at lower levels (if a touch powerful). I suppose I could have given more summon monster abilities per day (like at 3rd level, may change that) - But the class seemed pretty powerful relative to the others already. I'd be happy for any input. ~D
Really nicely done! Couple of thoughts: - The police robots are *deadly*; Three of those could spell a Bad Day for the intrepid PCs. I know that's the way they were in the module, but I might drop their hardness to 5 for 7th level PCs. - It would be nice to have a little more backstory on the intellect devourer. If it possesses a PC, what are its motives, how should it act, etc. It's a key encounter given the lack of roleplaying opportunities. - Ah, the froghemoth. Maybe its a "young" specimen? Otherwise, it most definitely would be a Bad Day for the slowest PC. - It might be nice to add a thing or two to the module to "liven it up" a bit with some roleplaying opportunities - Maybe a computer that has figured out how to communicate with the PCs. Lots of directions could open up with something like that. Also, something to get the PCs moving along a little quicker (radiation leakage, the engine is a ticking bomb, etc.). The original was very well done, but having been through it a few times, it did get a monotonous without roleplaying opportunities (although disintegrating stuff [like fellow PCs] with ray guns was nice). Again, great job on this - really usable. I do notice the PDF (when downloaded) comes across with some problems around cut-and-paste - not sure if its something I did (or didn't do) when I downloaded. ~D
Nice ideas! Some more thoughts: Spoiler:
Having a large contingent of bad guys is fairly dangerous for the PCs especially if they are not too sneaky. Sometimes what works is something like this: Connor and his backer are wealthy relative to the folks in the town. Maybe he arrives with not so many men but buys off one of the Logger's Guilds (perhaps there are, say two in town; One that upstanding and one that's not so much). Maybe the local militia leader is displaced with one of the family members of the "bad" guild. Then you have the militia and one of the prominent guilds under sway of Connor - but perhaps they could be redeemed (not needing to fight *everyone*) with some roleplay and detective work. Additionally, they could recruit the "good" guild to help them. The bad guild's logging warehouse could be the site of bad practices by the binder and the newly converted evil loggers. Could make for some interesting melee around water-driven saws and grinders. The binder could sow fear throughout the town by conjuring in some infernal baddies - e.g. The "fey" are back and martial law need to be brought down to "save" the town. Of course, the PCs might be able to produce evidence that these are not fey (although it could be hard if you make the devils go "poof" when they die; e.g. They'd need to draw in the devil to fight somewhere witnesses could corroborate - and it would still be difficult as who knows a devil from a fey?); Connor could pull the strings from the darkness, all the while befriending the PCs and giving them "advice" or leading them into traps (an ogre cave, ambush, what have you) - Be careful here, maybe he sets up others up to dispense the "information". The climax could center around some sort of ritual once the town is under firm control - Maybe the artifact that wards the town is something to be used in this. Good luck! ~D
Thanks much Sara, you're the best. ~D
Sara - Thanks much for the info. Unfortunately, something is not working right. I signed on to the $35 + $500 to get access to: "$500 - Hellknights Most Wanted". But I don't seem to be able to choose it. I tried very hard to make sure I did things correctly before I pledged: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pd2s?Before-I-click-the-button#7 Maybe I'm missing something though - Is this already chosen for me? I can't find the key piece I was interested in ("We will then use Paizo's Pathfinder artists to render a full-color head-shot of that character and then use that head-shot to create a wanted poster of your character." along with the ability to use this as an avatar here). Nothing is listed in "available add-ons". Thanks in advance for your help, ~D
I went through the pledge system - Nowhere did it mention my actual pledge level at $535.00. I'm guessing it has to do with the various packaging. That said, one reason I did pledge at that level was the benefit to manage my avatar here on the messageboards. How does one do this? Here is the payment info. Greetings from Amazon Payments, We wanted to let you know that we successfully completed a payment to Goblinworks, Inc. for $535.00 on Jan 14, 2013. This payment is related to the payment authorization listed below: Payment details:
I've gotten some pretty good feedback so far. Thanks much to those that gave it. I have updated the file and updated the pregens including two more. For those that have seen the file: Assuming reasonable play, are the pregens able to survive? While not totally min-maxed specifically for the campaign, I wanted a little bit of a mix. Here are the updated pregens (25 pnt buy): Professor Krane
Thanks again for the feedback, I'll post a few thoughts on Book 2 soon, ~D Spoiler: In terms of selection for classes, I didn't go ranger given it seemed a little obvious. I included the dwarf as a support class - but didn't go bard - I suppose because I have a soft spot for clerics and feel at higher levels they'll need one; This is not the adventure for rogues, but there are a few traps. Let me know if there are changes you'd recommend (or mistakes I made!). I didn't go APG/UM/UC, for no real good reason (although I used a couple things here and there).
Thanks for the comments, let me know if you have ideas for Book 2 as I'm starting to flesh it out. I updated the file with some minor edits and fixes (focused on the front section and references to later chapters). Same link, new file. I also uploaded a "reduced file size" file (for Reader 7+) at about 13MB - The maps and artwork suffer a little from the downsample, but it may be easier to read on slower PCs. The link is the same, just add "_small" to the filename in front of the ".pdf". Hope this helps. Thanks again for the comments, I'm interested to hear back once you have time to make it into the story a little deeper (the Vaults). Cheers, ~D
Thanks for the feedback! Tzzarg - Funny, I went over and pulled my copy of Firestorm Peak and, reading it, got chills. You are right! It's been so long since I had looked at it, but it's eerie how the "feeling" is so similar. Cordell is one of my favorite rpg authors (after the paizo folks, Gygax, and Carl Sargent), and I love the art by Arnie Swekel. I should update the file soon (this weekend?) with some fixes (Thanks so much Makhno for your help!). I thought perhaps I could compile a bit of a "Player's Guide" here (and would certainly would love ideas/help). First things first: Traits. So here is one to get things started: I WON'T LOSE YOU AGAIN (Trait): You knew you had a bad feeling when your love went on their latest venture. Long ago, another person close to you left in a similar manner, using almost the same words as they departed, never to return. Marked for life, you vowed you would never let anyone close to you again, only to lose them. So easily set aside when you met your love, the whole history of emotion comes crashing into you, driving you to find your kidnapped loved one above all else. BENEFIT: At the start of each day, select one of the following benefits to keep you on your quest: a.) +2 saves vs. exhaustion or fatigue (including those checks made because of the climate); b.) +1 to Will or Fortitude saves; c.) +2 to Concentration checks or to CMD; These benefits disappear once you have found your loved one and brought them to safety. I have also been thinking about adding some (not-so-iconic) pre-gens in case someone was looking to start fast. I am admittedly bad at character creation, but here are a couple (hopefully not too riddled with errors). I also added a blank character sheet if you like the format. - Professor Krane
Thanks again for all that perused this adventure, ~D
Thanks very much for the comments. Sometimes you get too close to something and doubt the intent (the story) comes across the way you intended. VH - You got it - I used Adobe InDesign and Photoshop (still on 5.5). I formerly numbered the maps in PS but found it was better to do this in ID. I'm still fairly basic on both apps (too much brute force/manual work), although I've got the master pages and section titling down along with preformatted styles (including the stat blocks). I also make extensive use of Herolabs - read this as a recommendation for that software. From a design point of view, I've found the hardest thing to learn is *restraint*. I still find the document too busy, but it's getting there visually. Spoiler:
In the beginning, I actually got the stats to work off of a button (click the button and the creature's stats add in feats like power attack or rage, etc.). Was really cool - Unfortunately, it did not work on an iPad or in a non-Adobe pdf viewer. So, while it was very cool to auto apply calcs, there wasn't enough benefit for the cost. I'm keeping an eye on it though (ePub formats, even html5, etc.) so we'll see. I may post an example so you can see what I'm talking about. Thanks to all those that have already reached out to review this, ~D
Hey there, did another module - this one is original, although I'm following a similar pattern as the Temple of Elemental Evil. IF YOU WANT A COPY: Send an email to daemonslye at daemonslye.com. Please do NOT post your email address in this thread. (Thanks!) I will respond individually and WILL NOT share your email address. Emails will be deleted once sent. This adventure is a mashup of several influences (which should be readily apparent; Gygax, Lovecraft, Campbell/Carpenter). To be clear: This is not a full conversion of Temple of Elemental Evil. This is a similar story in that the PCs start in a town, learn some things that lead them, over time, to a Temple. In the Temple, they will deal with competing factions they can either try to take advantage of or just wander about slaying everything. This is BOOK 1. Which means they do not get to the Temple yet (which occurs in Book 2). However, there is plenty of adventure to be had in Book 1. I may post a plot summary later - But I really want folks to begin reading it without details of the story. It is one of those tales that opens up over time. I really like doing Pathfinder conversions (I've done "A Paladin in Hell", "Tomb of the Lizard King", "Slave Pits of the Undercity", "The Lost City", "Castle Amber" and others), but, unfortunately, they are using other people's ideas. So this time, I included a few of my own. Maybe one day, I'll team up with an artist so that original art can be included as well. I really hope you like it - I am constantly in awe of those who do this for a living, because, darn it, it's really hard. I spent more than a few weekends working on this, and, of course its compounded by the fact that I am formatting everything as I go. I'd be honored if you want to give some feedback, provide some free editing help, or have other comments. Cheers, ~D Spoiler: Postscript: Really, once you hack away at something over time, you tend to lose your sense of perspective. My own sense is I fell into a familiar writers trap, too many competing ideas and no limits on number of pages. I tried hard to connect the dots but.. Well, you'll see. I wrote the adventure for someone reading it - Many modules (adventure paths) tend to chop up the module with encounters in one section, NPCs in another and environs in another. Its hard to get the sense of the whole story, so I kept them mashed together - hopefully it works for you. I could probably spend another two months rewriting the thing and tweaking it, but I thought, I should just get it out there and get feedback before I started to go too far on Book 2 (to see if anyone would even *want* a Book 2 :). I included some pictures found on the Internet here and there in addition to some maps. I did not use anything from Paizo (not even a logo). If you don't want any pictures, please ask in your email and I'll strip them out. The PDF is big at 146MB (the email will provide a link, not an attachment) but seems to work ok on an iPad (although its formatted for 8.5 by 11 inches). If you do like the adventure, let me know what ideas you have for Book 2 - See the Adventure Summary in the Introduction for a rough outline of the plot.
Personally, I'm with Doug on this one (as a player or GM) based on points already made throughout the thread. However, the reason we play the game is for fun, and if healing the group to max hp between each encounter increases your group's fun, I say go for it. No style of play is inherently the "right" way - Go find some like-minded folk and, when everyone is having fun, you're doing it right. Right? So, to answer your question: No Doug, it's not just you. Cheers, ~D
Well, that just sucks. Maybe will need to cancel it then. It seemed pretty clear on the AddOn text that the hardcover book was included - which is why I asked my question. I'll wait a few minutes for someone (informed) to respond. Thanks, ~D
Hey there, I'm looking to help support this project, however, I want to make sure I have this right: 1. Select the $35 pledge and I get the software when it comes available.
So I select the $35 pledge and in the first pop-up add $500 for $535 then go through the payment process. You will automatically understand I am adding on the hellknights most wanted addon because of the added funds. Do I have this correct? Thanks much, ~D
Hey there. First off I use the *heck* out of this tome - so thank you! Excellent reference and great value. As the errata is generated, I did not see the following mentioned - I don't believe Adepts get 0 level spells "At Will" (although if I'm wrong, it would help me to know that). Cheers, ~D
Pretty much all of the above - They pointed me to the OGL; Check it out: PF OGL; If you do work on conversions, you need to be careful; Which means the safest route is to keep it to your own game and not share it. Anything more than this is a risk - it's just not clear (legally) how far you can go. Stating up a movie character? Stating up a variant mind flayer? (saying the words "mind flayer"? Oh no, I did it again! Ni!) Using someone's artwork? Emailing conversions around (KotB for example)? Derivative work on a story developed (and protected/owned) by someone else? Who really knows? It's all just different levels of risk. As much as I would want the community, including the companies producing games and art to support this fan-based work, companies are *not* people (sorry, Mitt), and you can't trust they will not act to "protect their property" given their risk of having it taken and mis-used at will. Which is just how things work (not bad or good really; Maybe "true neutral"? Nah, "lawful neutral" then ;^). Let's not turn the thread into a discussion on IP. Maybe we should just lock it. ~D
Ross - Let me know if people are sharing links or such I need to take down. Thanks for your help. ~D
Paizo does encourage Community Use projects, however, if you'd like to distribute these projects, you need to follow what is outlined in the Community Use Policy. This email was sent because the links provided did not follow what was outlined in this policy. We are also concerned that you follow rules outlined by third parties, because we cannot take on the responsibility of advocating bending or breaking rules that other companies lay out on our website. You can always send us an email at webmaster@paizo.com if something we say upsets or concerns you. I appreciate the comments Chris and will work to remain within guidelines moving forward. Not sure where fan-created adventures go - I suppose the "suggestions" forum? Thanks for the support folks! ~D
Just keeping the community informed. I'd recommend we clarify what is OK and what is "not OK" on these forums (e.g. names, content, and other IP whatever that may be). In any case, I appreciate the comments from other fans and remain a fan of D&D in general. Perhaps now is the time to move to original content! I post this to serve as a reminder to all to make sure we stay within the guidelines going forward. Cheers, ~D Note from Chris: I am contacting you to inform you that multiple posts you have made on paizo.com have been removed or had the links removed. From our forum rules: "Users who participate in our message boards agree to not: post any content that infringes and/or violates any patent, trademark, copyright, or other proprietary right of any third party." Unfortunately, the conversion files, and in fact many of the files that have been posted violate Paizo's Community Use Policy and infringe on our copyright and trade dress, as well as other third party companies that are not Paizo. Additionally, you may want to revisit your OGL and Section 14 statements on your conversions and discuss them with a lawyer to be sure you are not violating any other company's terms of use or property. You may post these conversions or any other Community Use material once changes and revisions have been made, but as they are now, they are not allowed under our rules. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. Chris Lambertz
Are these actual production figures? Just wondering - the icon figures ended up a bit different than their original photos. Thanks much, ~D
Well, good luck on this one, I ran it way back when, and it really takes advantage of the "looseness" of the 1E rules set. Azalin can be run "as is", he puts up a half-hearted effort before zipping out. So, it's really an encounter to scare the PCs more than anything. As for Tandle Coreystal, ouch. Yeah, 18th level shade cleric with some undead friends. I'd just pull the cleric level down to an acceptable CR; Maybe 9th level. It's a bit of a side encounter... Maybe just delete it. I certainly don't remember my group hitting that encounter. Let us know how it goes. While the module felt like a bit of an experiment in design, you can't go wrong with Tracy (and Laura) Hickman. ~D
Thanks folks! @Darth: I (now) use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. Much better than MS Publisher and Elements (I switched over at Castle Amber). This is kind of why I am dragging my feet with PiH, I can't image going back to MS Pub. I went ahead and fixed some of the more obvious errors - the ones pointed out by cliff and a few others (I reduced the number of brothers, maidens, and magi but did not change the text, also a few other fixes). The new doc is uploaded. Not sure what I will do next. Will try to convince myself to finish Paladin - I may just need to convert it to InDesign and freshen it up. ~D
Hey, thanks for the comments - I had kind of hoped someone out there would "get it" - It's amazing the number of nooks and crannies 1E had even in just the first three books. Trying to compile across the books so the full rule was covered was... interesting. I like the idea about CR, I wanted to convert to just "less than one hit dice", but as you know, low level creatures had a "full hit dice" even if it was just a d4. I wasn't sure whether to go all the way to challenge ratings yet. I was trying to "just d20-ize" it enough to make the math easier to handle at a glance. I've been ruminating over the horror (maybe I'm just not nostalgic enough) that is the 1 minute round and 6 second segments, initiative, lack of clearly defined actions, etc. I forgot how hard it was to get a spell off in combat. I'm trying make it work in an "easy to use" table, using some of the tricks learned in the beginner's box game. But, we'll see. Either way, I want to keep it true 1E so no changing rules other than lining up AC, attack and saves math. I might change % to d20 or yards to feet, but the values are the same. Some rules are just inferred. Trying to understand "base movement" without any definition and what happens when a slow character (dwarf, gnome) wears heavy (sorry, "bulky") armor was interesting. Thanks for geeking out along with me (well, more than I guess the usual geeking out we do around here...) If anyone wants to add something, I'll put it in. ~D
http://www.adriansmith.co.uk/ Love. Love. Love.
~D
Thanks! It kind of helps me "clean the brain" as I'm working on conversions (and it's fun searching through the arcane tomes of the three 1E books looking for obscure rule-tie-ins). I did another update. While I'm sure I could keep AC a downward grading scale against a THAC0, I'm kind of seeing what it looks like to use the AC20 model and Base AC10+bonus. For now. ~D
Been kicking around in my head for a while and with the re-release of the books, I thought I post. 1E is full of nostalgia for me (not a proper grognard, I know). What would it look like if Paizo re-wrote the rules? I don't mean "changed" them, but re-wrote them for ease of use. Of course, some ease of use, could be construed as "changed" (or converted, which is why I post here) - but the math and the results of the die roll remain the same. Here is a sample (simplistic one I know) but gives a flavor for it. All I did was convert THAC0 to "Hit AC 20" (which means the same thing generally) and I took the 0-level saves and made them the "Base DC" and converted the rest of the saves to "pluses". Same math, same rolls needed. Easier to use. Thoughts? Just a fan's nostalgia trip, but interesting how far you could go with this. The 1E rules are just all over the place but with a simple re-ordering and re-structuring, how close could you get to today's game? - While still retaining the nerdy coolness of 1E? (maybe I'm the only one that feels this way - I understand there's some serious unhappiness with 1E out there). Cheers, ~D
@Johnny: I keep hacking away at B4. Completed Appendix i, ii, and iii. Should be done soon, then I can finish PiH. @Darth: Good suggestion, I don't think APG was fully complete when I originally stat'ed him. I'll re-look. We should remember, his "curse" was to be in the Temple when it transitioned and happened just recently (and late into his career). In terms of pics, I find them where I can, borrowing them from the Internet making just enough modifications to make them work with the content. I'm a huge fan of all these artists. ~D
@SgtHulka: Most cool. I really like this. The Captain and his "pet priest" is great. Cheers, ~D
Hey, that's great! I have been banging away on The Lost City and will take the comments into account. I remember, way back when, many an adventure got sidetracked with random encounters (aka "wandering monsters"). I'll try to make sure I tone down the frequency and CR level of them (in B4). As it stands, I am going through re-evaluating encounters because the PCs will need to sleep every three rooms or so. I'm really happy you were able to make it through! Let me know if there was anything egregiously off base and I can correct it in the master copy for others. Thanks, ~D
Well, I put in another couple of hours on it yesterday. I have been cranking though B4 The Lost City lately and it has been consuming my time. Also, since I moved over to InDesign and Photoshop, I've become somewhat addicted to those tools and working MS Publisher feels restrictive. Given the cult following of "Lost City", I am trying to do it justice, but it was a big effort to bite off (more than I knew when I started). I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out though (working on Tier 6 now). I will endeavor to put more time in PiH - I'm slogging through the stats for those in the Holy of Holies as well as fine tuning the ending (which has morphed several times). I'd love to re-do the entire thing having had a little more experience and seeing things I would want to address but it's a lot of work for probably little incremental benefit. Hang in there - It's coming. ~D
Well - then give it a try. I went ahead and picked up a two room suite. If it looks like we can get rooms next to one another and the chances of getting kicked out go down, the Paladin may find his way to Hell after all. The one thing I still need to figure out is the table and chairs. The hotel seemed totally confused as to why I needed this. Worst case is to buy them and bring them in - but it runs the risk of tripping some policy or another. We'll see. Paizo has not been able to help out (no response) as of the last time I tried reaching out. ~D
I called the hotel and they do not have suites with kitchens, but the hotel next door does. Tomorrow I will make a phone call to that hotel, but chances are we are not going to be able to afford the suite for the 4-5 days we will be in town for the con. Esp. without a room block or special room rate (I tried to see if Jeff would help with that given the event person at the Marriott runs things for both properties - no word back from him since Nov 25). ~D
But for a DM the fun one is the first one. Even players who have been in it before forget how to kill the big bad and forget half the traps. Agreed. First time I went in, I died in the mouth and watched the game for the rest of the 10 or so hours (there were a *lot* of players). (hmmm. Come to think of it, maybe let them bring lots of henchman and dead PCs can run a henchman; Um.... Maybe the henchmen have hirelings.. and the hirelings could have animal companions and familiars... yeah yeah.)
hmmm. Even if the spread continues spreading beyond the pit, would the pit require extra movement for that part of the cloud? e.g. 10 ft down then 10ft. across then 10ft. up? Based on the volume calcs above, it wouldn't make a big difference, but it could give the DM a way to either slow down the cloud or create a temp. notch depending on how they wanted to play it at the time. This reminds me of our old 1E spell discussions - If you could make a sensible argument, go with it. One of the nice things about the game. ;^) ~D
@edmud: hey, thanks for the offer. I did some map tests this weekend and I'm not happy with the effort. If you want to give it a try, send me something at my avatar name at aol dot com. Do you have a copy of B4? @thanael: Thanks! (but let's not get carried away.. I've only committed cardinal sins by converting [ab/using] other people's stuff so far. Maybe once I've gotten my skills up, I'll do my own. Even then, I'm not even near their league. So, more free stuff for you folks!) The Lost City is a bit bigger task than I thought, and there's more content out there to take in (Elder Evils, Tentacled Horror, etc.). That said, I like the low level aspect, building in some Beginner's Box learnings, and, heck, it's got Zargon!! Doing a tie in with ancient Azlant humans, aboleths, and cyclops (Zargon!!). Location, Meraz. One question: I was thinking the pronunciation was Cynidicea (kine-i-DYE-SEE-ah; But I'm not an etymologist so it's a guess. What do you think? Cheers, ~D
Totally agree regarding the lottery - was not planning on using it again. While I enjoyed running a game, if I didn't have my own room set up, I would have shut the game down because we already had two DMs screaming over each other at tables right next to mine. Which brings me to the problem at hand: The issue I'm finding is space; At the former hotel, they had nice rooms available with plenty of space - and better yet, they were nice enough to provide a long table and chairs. Unfortunately, the new hotel has no suites (available) and frowns on any re-configuring of the room. So, no chairs and people sitting on the floor around a bed. Ugh. I am trying to work something out with the Residence Inn next door which does have suites - The issue I think we may have is late night games may get us kicked out due to noise unless Paizo can help us block a set of suites. I'll send an email to Jeff to see if he would consider it. The events person for the Marriott is the same person for the Residence Inn. Call me picky, but I think a good game benefits from decent seating and space (without having to over-shout the viking DM at a table 2 feet away).
~D
I'll see if I can get a decent room tomorrow. Not sure how the new space will support the type of gaming (in a decent sized room/space) we were able to do in the previous hotel. If I can make something work, I'm in! N'wah, we always love it when you and CB stop by. My copy of the Anthology must have the best sig ever! (er, NSFW, BTW, depending on where you W) Cheers, ~D
@Havard: Welcome back! I'll see what I can do about the reference. @All: Thanks for the input!! - Been thinking about doing something like this: COMING SOON Spoiler:
OK - so I went a little overboard with the textures and such - but I'm trying to feel my way into the sense of an ancient society on the bring of degeneration. Since the module is first level and all, I went ahead and played around with a (non-beginner box but feels like one) pregen format -> ...And since folks asked for a barbarian, I give you: MAGNUS[/b] Enjoy, ~D
I've got a couple more rooms done - but keep getting sidetracked. I really want to get the whole thing in Adobe InDesign and finish it right. But I may try finishing it in Publisher so you have the content ahead of that. I suppose part of my hesitancy is that I've tried to build in a twist ending and I run this at Paizocon and like the aspect of a surprise at the end. I suspect that's not a good reason though. I will try to revisit this over Thanksgiving and post a few extra rooms then. Thanks ~D
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